Summary

The Industrial Revolution first appeared in England with the impact of scientific and technological developments as well as economic and social changes of the time. In a short period of time, factories replaced the handicraft methods. The development of production technology has brought mass production, cheap goods, growth in trade and more profits. As a matter of fact, this situation enabled England to become a richer country in the 1800s. However, the Industrial Revolution did not make working conditions better, nor did the standard of living of employees rise. Workers had to work long hours in unhealthy and mostly dangerous factories during this first period of the revolution. However, the fees they received were extremely insufficient. Moreover, the rapidly proliferating factories deprived the pre-industrial skilled workers of their livelihoods. It was impossible for a hand weaver to compete with a machine. Thousands of hand-woven craftsmen witnessed that their wages fell or lost their jobs completely. As a matter of fact, talented British laborers, mostly weaving workers, who called themselves “Luddites”, reacted to rapidly changing conditions by destroying machines. The Luddist uprising, which began in 1811, soon spread to settlements such as Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire, and occupied almost all of England's central production sites. This rebellion, which jeopardized the new order, seriously frightened the Government and business leaders. Eventually, the Government had to resort to military measures to control the rebellion.